Project
Dogwaffle is a truly strange and wonderful beast which
came at me out of the blue. My Editor sent an e-mail asking
me to review this baby. It wasn't the first time I had
heard of this paint program but I really hadn't paid it
much attention. Silly me. This program is quite simply
a very nice tool to work with.

What
is Project Dogwaffle? It is a very nicely designed and
fully featured paint program, with its functional emphasis
heavily on the word Paint. The author of the application
emphasizes that it is not designed for photo editing
or imaging (although I did have a good try). On loading
the application you are presented with an options dialog
that allows you to select a variety of image dimensions.
These options, based on video standards, strongly reflect
this program's basis in animation.

Dogwaffle's
strongest features by far are to be found in its brushes,
which can be customized to the finest degree. Very powerful
also are the particle-based Optipustics (the name for
Dogwaffle's internal digital particle physics logic)
which allow you to paint organic looking elements such
as grass and ferns using brushes. These brushes can also
be animated to allow the creation of effects such as
waterfalls and fireworks - pretty cool if you ask me.
There is also an impressive engine for generating lens
flares and stars.

Graphic
file compatibility is quite extensive with over 60 file
formats recognized by the import filter. The default
file format of Targa again demonstrates the application's
background in animation. Exporting of artwork is somewhat
less comprehensive with only 6 file formats supported.
Funny enough too, there is no support for the GIF format,
but this I think is no oversight due to the ridiculously
high licensing costs associated with the old CompuServe
format (enforced stringently not too many years ago by
Unisys). The program also supports scanners through their
TWAIN driver interface.

Filter
support in Dogwaffle is somewhat limited because there
is no support for Adobe style plug-ins, however there is
a useful range of very nice internal filters which are
quite powerful, some of which are quite unique. Dogwaffle's
plug-ins are also addressable through its Software Development
Kit (SDK) allowing those of you who like a challenge to
create your own.

Add-ons
are also available in the form of Doggy Bags, of which
there are two at this time. Doggy Bags 1 & 2 add the
following features: Animation/timeline editor, brush manager,
film grain Filter, FX Brush for creating fantasy and space
art, the capability to import/export animations to/from
AVI, and the use of patterns as paper textures or brushes.

Layer
support in this application is virtually nonexistent, which
is a little disappointing. But I'm assured that this will
be enhanced in the next version of Project Dogwaffle.

Cons: There
are of course a few gripes but these are really only minor
nuisances. You have to open the application with a preset
image buffer. Text handling needs to be enhanced, but only
to round out the features. No support for Photoshop plug-ins.
Navigating around your graphics needs a little work.

Pros: TWAIN
driver support, intelligent brush handling, graphics tablet
support, extensive online help system, Optipustics. Dogwaffle
is a pleasure to use and with its support for graphics
tablets provides a very nice stepping-on point for the
budding artist or the established professional wanting
to get solidly into the world of digital art. Its 'unnatural'
paint system is very powerful and as evidenced by the level
of online support, is capable of producing some very fine
artwork when placed in the right hands. I highly recommend
Dogwaffle. There is a free version available (version 1.1)
but do yourself a favor and buy version 1.6. You won't
regret it.